Before you start that snow blower, read this

Some people who left gasoline in their snow blower last winter, and fired it up without refueling this winter, are finding out that was a mistake.

Almost all gasoline sold in Michigan has 10% ethanol in it. That gas, called E-10, destabilizes after a month. So firing up a small engine with old gas can damage the engine.

Kris Kiser is president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute. He says people should drain the old gas and replace it with new.

Or, he says, use gasoline with no ethanol in it. Stores like Lowe's and Home Depot sell quart containers of that fuel, for a hefty price. Or you can buy it for less at a gas station.

The problem is, most stations in Michigan don't sell any E-0.

"It's very hard to find," Kiser acknowledges. " Cities that have a lot of water around them, marinas and that sort of thing, you'll typically find an E-0 station."

Kiser says another problem can arise when people think they're buying E-10, but it's actually E-11, E-12, or E-13, "which the machines are not designed for."

He says the blending process is an inexact process at best, so fuel delivery trucks may dispense a higher blend of ethanol to the first gas stations on their route.

Small engine manufacturers are worried that the federal government may allow up to 15% ethanol into the marketplace, which could wreak havoc on boat, lawn mower, snow blower and other small outdoor equipment engines if inadvertently used.

Kiser says Congress needs to revisit the Renewable Fuels Act, which mandates higher and higher amounts of ethanol every year in the nation's gasoline supply.

The Environmental Protection Agency lowered the mandate for 2014, but Kiser says that was just a temporary move.

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Michigan is getting its first significant snowfall of the year this evening. If you live in southwest Michigan, you may notice the snowplow in front of you is moving slower than you’re used to.

When a snow plow is dumping salt on icy roads, state Transportation officials refer to it as "Bounce & Scatter".

As the salt hits the road, faster truck speeds mean more salt tends to bounce and scatter, much of it landing off the road.

MDOT spokesman Nick Schirripa says to reduce the scatter salt trucks in nine southwest counties will slow from 35 to 25 miles per hour this winter. The hope is slower speed will save money by using less salt.

But Schirripa admits the slower speeds could put the trucks at greater risk of being rear-ended by inattentive motorists.

“If we find out after a season, or a few weeks of it, the crash rate is simply too high, that safety is too much of a factor, the (pilot) program may in fact be dropped," says Schirripa.

If the slower salt truck pilot program is successful, it may eventually expand to the rest of the state.

The state's three main airports report business has returned almost to normal, after crews spent the evening clearing runways of snow and ice. Up to ten inches fell overnight. In many cases, that was more snow than fell during the so-dubbed "Snowpocalypse," a few weeks ago.

Detroit Metro Airport spokesman Mike Conway says the big problem last night was the roadways leading to the airport. He says it took a long time for taxis to return from outlying suburbs, and there was congestion as cars and taxis lined up outside terminals.